A bitter feud between two Texas Republicans has erupted into accusations of doxxing and voter fraud, with U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt claiming Sen. John Cornyn’s campaign endangered his family by publishing personal information online.
The escalating conflict between the 41-year-old congressman challenging the three-term senator in Texas’s Republican primary has taken a dramatic turn after Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak shared an unredacted affidavit containing Hunt’s personal information on social media platform X.
Accusations of doxxing and voter fraud
Hunt didn’t mince words in his response: “According to Team Cornyn, voting for President Trump is now a ‘crime,'” he stated. “Meanwhile, they’re committing a real one, doxxing the family of a sitting Member of Congress. We are pursuing every legal remedy available, and we will hold them fully accountable.”
Mackowiak defended the post, which included Hunt’s Army discharge paperwork and congressional biography, claiming the documents prove Hunt committed voter fraud by misrepresenting his military service dates on a voter registration affidavit. “That document was provided by Harris County elections (unredacted) and is protected,” Mackowiak said. “This is a clear case of perjury.”
The Cornyn adviser alleges Hunt falsely claimed in a sworn statement that he was discharged from the military in October 2016, when documents supposedly show his discharge occurred in 2012. Mackowiak further claims Hunt was not properly registered to vote in Harris County on November 4, 2016.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who at 62 is also significantly younger than the 73-year-old Cornyn, jumped into the fray to defend Hunt. “The first thing that needs to be investigated is why a staffer for John Cornyn is publicly listing the address of a member of Congress and/or his family,” Paxton wrote on X. “I’ve seen a lot of pathetic campaigning out of the Cornyn camp, but this reaches an all-time low.”
A generational challenge
Hunt, who has positioned himself as the Trump-aligned alternative to Cornyn, firmly denies any wrongdoing. “The fact remains I did in fact cast a ballot for Donald J. Trump in 2016,” Hunt said. “And after John Cornyn’s campaign found this out, they called me a criminal.”
The controversy comes amid an increasingly contentious primary battle that has seen the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) dismiss Hunt’s Senate bid as a “vanity project” that wastes nearly $5 million in GOP resources. “We urge donors and allies to deliver this message directly — tell Wesley Hunt to protect his seat and back Senator John Cornyn,” stated an NRSC memo.
Is this just typical campaign mudslinging or something more serious? Hunt has made Cornyn’s long tenure a central campaign theme, emphasizing the generational gap between them. “At the end of the day, I think it is time for new leadership in Texas. John Cornyn has been around for 24 years. By the first time he was even elected to office, I was 2 years old,” Hunt has noted during campaign appearances.
Meanwhile, Cornyn’s team has criticized Hunt for missing key votes, including “a KEY vote to fund ICE” and boycotting a hearing to cross-examine Special Counsel Jack Smith. The Cornyn campaign has publicly claimed Hunt isn’t a serious threat while simultaneously spending millions on attack ads as polls show the race tightening.
Hunt has been relentless in attacking Cornyn’s record, particularly on issues dear to the Republican base. “He co-authored gun control in Texas, said it was time to move on from President Trump, and only endorsed him after he got shot,” Hunt has claimed in campaign messaging.
The primary battle highlights the ongoing tensions within the Republican Party between established incumbents and a new generation of Trump-aligned challengers. With both campaigns showing no signs of backing down, Texas voters are witnessing one of the most bitter intraparty contests in recent memory — one that now includes serious allegations of both criminal voter fraud and dangerous doxxing of a congressman’s family.
